Lightning Rod For House

We hear this question a lot and the answer is not always cut and dry.

Lightning rod for house. If lightning hits the structure it will preferentially strike the rod and be conducted to ground through a wire instead of passing through the structure where it could start a fire or cause electrocution. Lightning striking a house could cause structure fires as well as electrical damage to appliances and home electronics. The purpose of lightning rods is often misunderstood. Lightning rods and the accompanying protection system are designed to protect a house or building from a direct lightning strike and in particular a lightning initiated fire.

Although it is impossible to know who constructed and erected the first lightning rod it is believed that benjamin franklin was first responsible for the widespread use of. The rod might be an inch 2 cm in diameter. Does my house need a lightning rod. A single lightning bolt carries 100 million to 1 billion volts of electricity.

It connects to a huge piece of copper or aluminum wire that s also an inch or so in diameter. In this installment we ll examine the variables helping you determine whether or not your home may be in need of lighting protection. Not every home needs lightning rod protection. In areas of the u s.

The wire is connected to a conductive grid buried in the ground nearby. A lightning rod us aus or lightning conductor is a metal rod mounted on a structure and intended to protect the structure from a lightning strike. Without lightning rods also known as finials life would be a much more dangerous place to live especially if you are in a tall building during a ferocious storm. How lighting rods work.